10 Things Tutoring Centers Won’t Tell You

Many students can benefit from enrolling in a tutoring center when it comes to improving grades as well as strengthening learning skills. But most cannot learn in exactly the same way. It can work best for your kid whereas it may not work well for other ones. That’s where doing research comes in handy. You need to search for a tutor and a tutoring center which will work the best for your child. But most of the tutoring centers deny to disclose some nasty sides of them and you need to know them anyways,

In this article, we will walk you through 10 things tutoring centers won’t tell you that you really need to know. Let’s jump in.

1. We never need any educational standards

Education has become a big concern for parents because of the failing schools and the increasing competitiveness of colleges. And this is where the “supplemental education” does the business, a growing industry of $2 billion which provides private tutors, retail tutoring centers and test-preparation centers. These criteria don’t apply to tutoring centers while schools now have to meet federally mandated standards. In fact, their excellent tutor can be someone who put up a flier at the grocery store or who is a crummy tutor from a national organization.

So, you’ve to start with a reliable referral in order to get the best help possible. You can ask them out where they bring the tutors from and whether they check their background or not. It’s a good sign if the teachers are certified. Seek out references: you can ask the past clients whether their child’s grades went up or not, whether the tutors were reliable, and most importantly if the child and tutor both had a good understanding. Because a good teacher has to be good with kids.

2. Our rates are not attached to quality always

Costs can vary wildly for tutoring. It depends on whether your child gets a group or private tutoring, and whether he receives it at a center or in-home. Good tutoring costs anywhere from $35 to $65 for an hour. But the costs can multiply if you’re looking for specialized tutoring who include SAT test prep.

So, it’s a market based on “you get what you pay for”, which is up to a certain amount. You definitely have to start asking what you’re trying to achieve when you start crossing the $100-per-session range. It’s very important for you to understand the company’s pricing methodology and you’ve to be aware of tutoring centers who need a minimum purchase up front and cancellation process.

3. Our ‘promises’ are meaningless

When you spend thousands of dollars into tutoring for your child, you will need some guarantee that it is worth the money. A good example of a worthwhile tutoring option would be primary science tuition by SmileTutor as they guarantee some conditions like your child will improve at least one full grade-level consistent in reading or general math skills after 36 hours of instruction, otherwise, you get an additional 12 hours fee. But it’s not so obvious that all centers have to participate the guarantee.

However, guarantees should not carry so much weight. When they mention that their median SAT score increase is 150 points, it means half the kids are above that and half are below. So, you have to measure success by addressing goals like improving studying habits. And the center should keep you informed through regular meetings.

4. We reward scholarships but we are not so upfront about it

They actually offer financial aid or scholarships; they just don’t say it until you ask them yourself. They can give a 10 percent discount to the families who enroll in 40 hours of tutoring. They can even offer a 10 percent discount if 32 sessions are purchased. One of my close friends received a discount from a local tutoring center when he purchases his tutoring hours up front. The cost was still high for her but it dropped the per-hour fee from 54 dollars to around 50 dollars. Private tutors can offer you even more room for discounts and negotiations. You just have to ask them out because they don’t advertise it.

5. We educate Math and English but we concentrate more on sales

When you take your child to a tutoring center, they barrage him with assessment tests with pinpoint strengths and weaknesses along with a bill of upwards of $150. Those tests are quite unnecessary because you can get the information from your children’s school offices. They say those assessments help center directors to determine how many tutoring hours your child need. But the truth is, the estimate is always high. It’s only a computerized system which estimates 100+ hours. To be honest, the estimates depend on each student’s individual assessment at an average of 72 hours. You need to ask which school test can substitute the center’s assessments before you agree to have your kid tested.

6. Does your baby require help studying for the SAT? Best of luck.

To take the SAT and ACT aptitude tests, fall and spring are the hot seasons. But apparently, you can’t book a tutor for help prior to the tests for a few weeks or even a couple of months. They book up long before the test-taking chomp in the spring. The tutors get booked up early, but it’s “overkill” to book up two years ahead of time. Instead, it’s ideal to book a test tutor just like the way you do the summer camp, let’s say, 3 months in advance?

7. It’s much easier and low-rate to do it online

Nowadays, tutoring services are not for kids who are extremely struggling in school, but also for the students who just require a nudge. A friend of mine hired an earning center to help her daughter raise her B-minus in Advanced Placement math. She says her daughter developed a good rapport with her tutor and her grades got improved and steady now after they got her a tutor.

In fact, good students can benefit from peer tutoring at school, or from online tutoring which is free or low-cost. If you have a question, you can get help from a few good services available for occasional help. You can take Tutor.com as an example. Their “Live Homework Help” function helps kids to connect an online tutor for help with everything from algebra to science. It’s totally free on cost.

8. We don’t know to control the learning disabilities

There are a few numbers of tutoring centers who can handle your children with actual disabilities such as dyslexia or even mild developmental disorders. You have to seek them anyway. Because it helps to diagnose and even fix the problem that your child is experiencing at his school. Though it’s not a tutor’s place to diagnose a disability, some tutors can adept at sorting out the blocks in your child’s learning process. You should consult your pediatrician to suggest you a specialist right after suspecting a problem exists.

You can look for a credentialed special-education teacher once our kid is diagnosed with learning disability. Ask the company whether they have a tutor who is a learning specialist with degrees. Besides, one of my known private tutors who specializes in disabilities likes to point out examples of famous people with learning disabilities to her students, such as Albert Einstein. She believes that it can be damaging and hurt their self-esteem if it is handled in a negative fashion. However, you have to ask the center for references which come from parents whose children have faced similar issues.

9. We focus on small-group sessions but we don’t do one-to-one

Many tutoring centers focus on small-group tutoring where 2 to 4 children work with one tutor. It’s not a bad thing while it can allow for independent study time and it can be a lot cheaper. But economic factors outweigh individual attention at some chain-based centers. Your kid may get rejected from getting his fair share of help. He could even end up wasting his time listening to the tutor explain things that he has already mastered. Learning center directors were instructed not to leave one student and one student together back then. However, each student has to get individual attention. One-on-one tutoring is very important for your child to do better in school.

10. Your kid will have different tutors at times

Even a one-one-one route does not always mean that it’s personalized care. It’s so bad. A good understanding, indeed, makes the help seem more like fun and less like punishment. Most of the tutoring centers can’t make you sure that they will provide the same tutor to your kid. In fact, he will probably receive five or six different tutors at one-on-one tutoring over the course of seven months. They never guarantee continuity. Hence, kids are exposed to different teaching styles because of this. Ask the director to have a specific tutor for your child. Also, make sure that all the teachers are familiar with your kid’s curriculum and ask the centers to discuss your kid’s problems and progress with his teachers.

You have done all the researches and got your kid admitted to the best tutoring center for him. But you have to make sure that you follow up on how he is doing routinely. Check if he gets along with his tutor. Check if he is making the expected progress. Also, notice if he is having fun or not. It’s ongoing progress to find the best tutoring program. All you need is having your child comfortable and happy.

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David A. Buhr

David A. Buhr has over fifteen years of experience in the field of Education. He specializes writing articles on Education-related topics on his blog. He is presently working at SmileTutor, a reputable presence in the education industry.